[Oh, Gustave. What little composure she's claws together threatens to crumble when he speaks like that. Her fingers dig into his wrist, eyes squeezing shut as she nuzzles her cheek against his palm, his pain a blade in her chest.]
You did. Please, don't think you didn't. You did.
[Verso stepped in once Gustave fell, but would he have been there in time had Gustave not challenged Renoir? She thinks about the cliff regularly. How powerless she felt and how she begged and screamed to no avail and how Gustave's corpse was left so indignantly on the rock, the light behind his eyes gone. It was so much worse than the Gommage. It was a nightmare she hoped to wake from, but couldn't.]
You've never let me down. Not ever. That's still true.
just when i thought i was done crying over this thread
You did. Please, don't think you didn't. You did.
[Verso stepped in once Gustave fell, but would he have been there in time had Gustave not challenged Renoir? She thinks about the cliff regularly. How powerless she felt and how she begged and screamed to no avail and how Gustave's corpse was left so indignantly on the rock, the light behind his eyes gone. It was so much worse than the Gommage. It was a nightmare she hoped to wake from, but couldn't.]
You've never let me down. Not ever. That's still true.
[It will remain forever true, now.]